5 TAKEAWAYS: Panthers 6, Canadiens 2

The Florida Panthers are so close to a playoff spot they can almost taste it.
Moving to within just two points of a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, the Panthers improved to 22-20-5 with a 6-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Thursday.
Overall, Florida picked up five out of a possible six points on its three-game road trip.
"We're extremely proud to get five out of fix points on this road trip," Panthers forward Ryan Lomberg said. "Having said that, it doesn't matter if we don't keep building off it. We're looking forward to getting home and playing Minnesota and then heading back on the road."
For a quick recap of the game, click
HERE
.
To read up on five key takeaways for the Cats, continue below.

1. THE LYON KING

Alex Lyon wasn't going to let his opportunity go to waste.
Thrust into action just 2:01 into the game, Lyon was dialed in from the moment he stepped into the crease. Put to the test right away, he denied Montreal sniper Cole Caufield on the power play to keep the game scoreless not long after he entered the game.
Recalled from the AHL on Jan. 10, it was his first NHL game since Jan. 8, 2022.
"Your legs are a little shaky and you're just trying to focus on the things that make you yourself," said Lyon, who has appeared in 25 games over parts of six seasons in the NHL. "Getting a couple big saves early can give you a lot of confidence. I just tried to build off that."
Finishing with 23 saves, Lyon was at his best in big moments. Stopping all seven high-danger shots he faced, the most-impressive came in the second period when he laid out to absolutely rob Caufield -- again -- of what looked like a surefire goal from the left circle on the power play.

"Lyon King comes in there and steals the show for a little bit to deny them on a few grade-A chances," Lomberg said. "That gave us some time to get the ball rolling. A great team win."
As for Sergei Bobrovsky, who exited with a lower-body injury, an update is expected on Saturday.

2. PLAYING WITH POWER

The Panthers feasted with the extra attacker in the second period.
Matching a franchise record with four power-play goals in a single period, Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett each struck once on the man advantage, while Mathew Tkachuk scored twice.

"We came ready to play," Bennett said. "Our power pay was really good. Lyon was great coming in. It was great to see guys sticking up for each other. That's a great all-around game for us."
Pelting the opposing net with pucks, Florida racked up 20 shots on the power play.
"I thought we were sharp, getting good entries and making good plays," Bennett said. "We were getting pucks to the net. That's huge to get our power play going. That was a big game for us."

In recent weeks, the power play coming up big is nothing new.
Since Jan. 1, the Panthers rank third in the NHL with a 26.2% success rate on the power play. Over the last eight games, they've gone a staggering 12-for-28 (42.9%). During that heated eight-game stretch, Tkachuk and Aaron Ekblad lead the team with three power-play goals each.
Per NHL PR, Florida is the first team to score four power-play goals in a game in 2022-23.

3. SMITH REWARDED

This was a goal the whole team could enjoy.
Cashing in for the first time with the Panthers, Givani Smith, acquired from the Red Wings last month, followed up on his own shot, plucked the rebound out of a pile of players in front of the net and fired the puck past Sam Montembeault to make it 4-0 at 16:03 of the second period.

"He does the hard stuff, all the heavy lifting and the fighting and keeping the game safe for the rest of the players," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said of Smith. "But he wants one. He wants to score. When those guys score, it's a little bit special for everybody."
Despite only playing 5:33 against the Canadiens due to special teams taking center stage, Smith's impact was still impressive. In addition to his goal, he also recorded two shots on goal, two hits and dropped the gloves in the third period with Montreal defenseman Arber Xehkaj.
In 10 games with Florida this season, Smith has posted one goal, two assists and four fights.
"Smitty's a workhorse," Lomberg said of his linemate on the fourth line. "He works extremely hard day in, day out, so to see him get rewarded like that, he deserves it. It was great to see."

4. A TIGHT GROUP

If you're looking for turning points against Montreal, this one really stands out.
Not happy after Eric Staal suffered an upper-body injury on an uncalled interference penalty from Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson in the first period, the Panthers didn't loose their cool. Instead, they kept their focus and built up and a large lead before eventually getting some revenge.
In the third period, three fights took place as temperatures stemming from that earlier incident really started to boil over, including Tkachuk stepping up to drop the gloves with Matheson.
On Friday, Matheson was fined $5,000 by the NHL Department of Player Safety.
"When you get a guy with that amount of respect in the locker room, a real veteran, a true pro and a leader, to see him get hit like that definitely lit a bit of fire under us," Lomberg said when asked about how the hit on Staal affected the rest of the game. "We wanted to make sure we got the two points because ultimately that's what he wanted us to do."
Maurice said he liked the way his players handled the situation throughout the game.
"You can tell sometimes the chemistry in the room by the reaction to something like that," Maurice said. "They're trying to be disciplined because we're not in a position to run around here. We've got to win games, but they take care of their own."
An update on Staal's status is expected on Saturday.

5. TKACHUK STRIKES TWICE

As of right now, the Panthers will only have one player in the 2023 NHL All-Star Game.
But what a player he is.
Netting a pair of power-play goals against the Canadiens, Tkachuk continues to prove himself as one of the top players in the NHL. At the time of this writing, the 25-year-old forward leads the Panthers and ranks eighth in the NHL in scoring with 58 points (24 goals, 34 assists).

Making a dent on the scoresheet in eight of the last nine games, Tkachuk, who also leads the Cats with 19 multi-point performances, has tallied 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in that span.
Since Jan. 1, Tkachuk's 15 points are tied for first in the NHL.